This book does a great job of reviewing what you should already know like the basics of networking and teaching you things you don't know like sub-netting. A great tool for any network professional.

Too many errors in the book, it can cause more frustration and confusion than it is worth.

I found this book very helpful and easy to understand.

I found this book very helpful and easy to understand.

I have not had the opportunity to use this textbook as of yet, but I have seen of it, it looks Very Good.

I have not had the opportunity to use this textbook as of yet, but I have seen of it, it looks Very Good.

This book is good as a primer if you want consider achieving a CCNA. This book is not good as a study guide for the exam, due to its lack of granularity on most CCNA subjects.

This book is good as a primer if you want consider achieving a CCNA. This book is not good as a study guide for the exam, due to its lack of granularity on most CCNA subjects.

This book is a good overview, but do NOT count on it being your only study material for the CCNA exam. I looked at it this way, this book gave me the overview I needed to delve into a textbook-like monster of a text, and not be completely overwhelmed by the terms used and the logic presented. It is an excellent complement to the CCNA Study Guide by Todd Lammle.

This book is a good overview, but do NOT count on it being your only study material for the CCNA exam. I looked at it this way, this book gave me the overview I needed to delve into a textbook-like monster of a text, and not be completely overwhelmed by the terms used and the logic presented. It is an excellent complement to the CCNA Study Guide by Todd Lammle.

Excellent beginning for someone who knows nothing to very little about networking and Cisco

As with all the 'For Dummies' books, this book is an excellent place to start. It's fast to read, and by the time you finish you will have a good overall view of the subject. In this case that particularly includes the vocabulary. In fact knowing the jargon, as per Cisco is about half the battle in passing the test.

The other half of the battle is knowing how all this stuff hangs together. I'd suggest that you read this one go through the test on the CD-ROM, and then study one of the harder books -- my own suggestion is the 'official' guide from Cisco.

The reason for doing it this way is that I find the Cisco books a bit more difficult to use when trying to get an overview of the subject. They get down into the details too quickly and I get lost too quickly. Read 'For Dummies' to get the overview, then the other.

First of all, I would tell anyone studying for their CCNA exams to read this book first. Most of the other books on the subject are written by nerds for nerds. This book (as is true of most of the "for Dummies" series) demystifies a lot of the technology by describing it in clear language. But don't use it as your only study guide. It is NOT the only reference you're going to need to pass the exam. I also used Wendell Odom's books (published by Cisco Press). I recommend them for content but I found some of the explanations a little difficult and had to reread passages several times to get what he was saying. Also, the CCNA flash cards book (also published by Cisco Press) is a good resource. I used CCNA for Dummies, Wendell Odom's CCNA Intro and CCNA ICND, and the flash cards books to study for a recertification and did very well. If you are studying for a first time certification, I would add one more source (publsihed by Sybex or McGraw Hill--take your pick) because each author is going to emphasize different things and this is the only way to get the big picture. Regarding the quality of the practice testing software supplied with CCNA for Dummies, I ran into this with Boson (who supplied the practice tests for CCNA for Dummies and the practice tests and NetSim software to Cisco Press)--yes, some of the practice questions do have wrong answers. The QC, though, is the responsibility of the authors of the tests, not IDG, Cisco Press or Boson. The tests are buggy but the publisher is standing between you and the author. You'll beat up the publisher for selling you an inferior product but the actual responsibility lies with the author of the practice test. The only thing you can do here is know your subject so well that you know when the answers to the practice tests are wrong. As far as the practice simulators are concerned, go to Cisco's website to see what the test simulator is REALLY like. So, the bottom line on CCNA for Dummies is that this should definitely be in your arsenal but should not be the only book you use to study for the test(s). You're definitely going to need several books to do well on the exam.

I've read several Dummies books for other subjects. However, this book has lots of errors! Unfortunately I did not document all the errors, but really, isn't this the publisher's job?? The errors mostly occur in the chapter prep tests and on the practice test on the CD. These errors end up confusing me more than help me understand the material. I've emailed the publisher for a list of corrections, but they said they had no such list. In my humble opinion, this book isn't exactly the best study aid for the CCNA and certainly shouldn't be your only study aid!! However, it would be good to start off on this book, and get the clarification you need from another book as well.

Make sure you have the new edition of this book that covers Exams #640-801/811/821. As a starter book for CCNA it breaks you in with an very good overall picture and its a quick good final read also. Cisco Press or Sybex have "the meat" in much longer and involved texts which you will need unless you are doing a course. Dummies books are never to be underestimated. Recommended.

The book claims to be all you need to pass the CCNA exam. It is my experience that this is incorrect. The most it can be used for is an overview at the beginning of your studies. The book does not go into enough detail to cover half of what is on the test. The included CD is full of bugs and the emulation software it promises is only a demo and the real software must be purchased if you plan on using it to pass the test. I think there are better book on the market and don't suggest wasting the money.

CCNA for Dummies / Gilster et al / IDG Books / 0-7645-0690-0
Chapter Page Comment
0 n/a General impression: this book can be useful for the quiz questions. You must check for yourself whether the given answers are correct. The number of issues below makes me reluctant to recommend it. I'd say it was OK to start out with,
but I already had quite a bit of background, and I would be concerned that someone with less experience might not know where
the problems were. I think it might have been a much better book if there had been a thorough internal technical review
before it was published.
0 n/a "Too many pages without page numbers for my taste. (Between chapters, as many as five.)"
3 41 "Table 3-1: I'd like to see Network layer here use ""Packet or Datagram"", for consistency with table 14-7 and Chapter 14, Prep test question 9."
3 45 "Figure 3-5 repeats the upper half of figure 3-4. Instead, it should show an RJ45 connector."
3 48 "1st paragraph, last sentence: should this be "" ... no more than one intermediatecross connect""?"
5 80 "Table 5-3 is incorrectly printed. See Table 11-2, which is correct, instead. (The entries Ethernet_802.3, Ethernet_II, and Ethernet_SNAP in the first column should be in the second column instead. All of those frame types are for Ethernet interfaces.)"
5 81 "The ""IPX network"" command is not given in global configuration mode; it is an interface command."
7 102-103 Simplex / half-duplex / full-duplex discussion is misplaced in a section about the Session Layer. Most aspects of this discussion pertain to the Data Link Layer!
7 109-110 "Question 7 of prep test -- I think this one is on the ragged edge; pg.104-105 shows data encryption and data conversion 1st as parallel categories, later encryption as subset of conversion."
8 125 "Question 6: for this to be a double negative, option E should be 'None of the above'."
9 140 "In the CLI example at the bottom of the page, one character is missing from the first CLI prompt."
10 158 "Table 10-1: This description of 'reload' fails to distinguish the results of 'reload' (reboot the router now) with the results of 'copy startup running', which over-writes the running config with the startup config. Scheduled reboot entirely omitted."
10 161 "Question 9: typographical error: option C should be ""int e1"", with a space between the ""t"" and the ""e""."
13 209 "Answers are not actually given for questions 2,3, and 4 -- just pointers to text."
13 219 "Lab 13-2 ""... IP address of 5 ..."" Huh? ""5"" is not an IP address"
13 219 "Lab 13-2, part 1. Here ""5"" has become 192.168.1.5/255.255.255.192. Under the classical subnet rules, the subnet part of the address must be non-zero. The first available subnet is 192.168.1.64/26, not 192.168.1.4/30! "
13 219 "Lab 13-2, part 3. The sentence beginning ""Since these two addresses..."" is nonsensical."
13 219 "Lab 13-2, part 3. ""Which is the reason why 192.168.1.128"" was an invalid mask value in table 13-7"". Sentence fragment. Also, ""192.168.1.128"" is not a value that appears in table 13-7."
13 224 "Prep test question 8: The identified correct answer (C) is wrong. Accepting the question as correct as written, then in order to be correct, (C) would need to be something like: ""192.168.1.64, 192.168.1.160, 192.168.1.192""."
14 235 "I'd prefer that the discussion of windowing (flow control) and reliability (acknowledgements and retransmissions) were distinct, not intertwined."
14 235 I'd like to see a mention of TCP retransmissions in the discussion of reliability.
14 241 "Table 14-6: Field ""Flag offset"" should be ""Fragment offset""."
14 232-236 "As a protocol guy, I'd like to see explicit mention of the fact that TCP provides ordered delivery of the data. You can design reliable protocols that are not ordered."
16 268 "I have difficulty with much of this page. The 1st sentence says ""Layer 2 ...device"". Later in the same paragraph, ""... virtually the same as a router"" (which is a layer 3 device, of course). I give up completely on paragraph 4."
16 268 "Note that after describing Cisco switches as Level 3 devices on this page, the section ""Segmenting a LAN with a switch"" on pg 272 clearly describes a level 2 device. Were these different sections written by the same person?"
16 276 "The second sentence of the second paragraph is problematic. How can the VLAN be based on the MAC address, yet ""...enable a user to belong to the same VLAN at all times, even when connecting to the network with a different MAC address..."" (emphasis mine)."
16 278 "Prep test question 4: I think B) should be ""MAC Address""."
16 268-269 "These 2 pages mention circuit, packet, LAN, IP, and port switching. I'd like these terms to be more clearly distinguished, and used more like Cisco docs.
18 308 URL for BeachFront Quizzer misspelled.

Good basic info on Cisco networking in general and the CCNA exam in particular. "Cisco IOS for IP Routing" by Andrew Colton (ISBN 0972286209) would take you much further in understanding the IP routing protocols. Check out books by Jeff Doyle and Radia Perlman as well. Though not if you are a complete beginner to Cisco.

This book is decently written. It's humorous, covers most of the necessary topics, and it's obvious that the authors know what they're talking about. Unfortunately, the book also appears to have been written over a weekend, as it is rife with typos. This can be very distracting (and potentially devestating on test day) for the Cisco novice that this book targets. The book comes with a CD with various tools to test your knowledge, such as practice tests, but this unfortunately also appears to be hastily written. Some of the programs don't even appear to be fully implemented (ie, click on a button and it takes you to a blank page). All in all, not a bad book, but I would avoid using it as your sole source of information, as it is just not trustworthy enough.

By far the most helpful resource in getting my CCNA. This book covers everything on the CCNA, a little more condensed than Wendell's book, (by the Cisco Press) but I believe Wendell's book hit every imaginable topic while Mr. Glister's hit only the relevent topics for the test.
For [the priceyou will not make a mistake using this as a resource.

I bought this book in January. I am amazed that they actually can make CCNA this simple. Guys, its very easy and very informative. I never knew anything about CCNA but now I know alot and for a begginer just like me it is a geat start. I am sure that it will help all of you who have interest in doing CCNA.

Of all the books, CDRoms, and sims that I used to study for the CCNA, this was the single best resource by far.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This book is a waste of money. It doesn't go into detail enough with certain topics, particularly WAN protocols, and has information completely irrelevant to the 507 exam, eg Appletalk. It seems to me that this book was written for the 407 exam and quickly reedited for the 507. The only thing this book might be useful for is to review certain OSI model topics, and that hardly justifies the price. My recommendation is to buy Todd Lammle's guide and a router simulator.

If you want a book that will give you a good introduction to Cisco, then buy this book. If you plan on passing Exam 640-507 I would suggest getting another book.

This is a good book, but I highly doubt you will pass if this is your only study guide.

I purchased the A+ for Dummies study guide, and it did help me pass the A+ exam. I figured I could do it again with this book, as it's by the same author. This book is just not detailed enough, especially regarding WAN technologies. And it covers some material that just isn't very important, such as Appletalk. My suggestion would be to go with Todd Lammle's excellent CCNA Study Guide, it has everything you need for the exam in the right detail with no fluff. You almost certainly will not pass the CCNA with just this book. It might be good to learn certain new concepts, but only as a backup.

This book contains good foundational information about the CCNA exam. It is however not complete enough to use alone to prepare for 640-507. Read this book only if you are a networking novice.

This book really helped me get my good CCNA score of 924, because it was very readable and very well laid out with excellent tables and explanations, precise and without clutter, all the stuff one needs to know for the exam. The tough subnetting subject was a lot more enjoyable in the clear way Ron wrote the chapter with lots of worked examples to enable it to sink in better. I liked his book so much I've just ordered Network + today by the same author..Keep up the good work Ron, Jeff and Kevin, thanks for helping me through and now waiting for some CCNP books with a good sense of humour!

I do not think you should read only one text book for any certification exams, and you will be a lunatic to use Dunnies But for those who had though of it, Dummies CCNA is better that the Exam Cram. The Exam Cram is better for the Microsoft exams.

I already knew a lot about routers and this book was the best book I found to refresh my memory and bring me up-to-date on the newer IOS commands. It starts out not from a beginning stand-point but rather diving in to the material. I read the book front page to last and passed the exam the day after I finished the book. I do not recommend this book for someone that does not know what a router is to start off...they need to buy ICND or attend the course.

Bottom line: Don't think you will pass the test with this book. If you only want to buy one book, look elsewhere.

If you know very little about the CCNA subject matter and need a solid easy-reading introduction, the Dummies book is great. It is just not enough on it's own to actually pass the test.

The book is well edited, and you can trust the information it does present (that is a serious issue with other books). It just doesn't have enough detail, and starts to trail off towards the end. The last few chapters especially seemed as though they were hacked up in order to save space. In all, it a good reference with strength in areas where other books are lacking. However, alone, it isn't enough.

When preparing for the CCNA I purchased this text and found it to be a great introduction. Indeed, most all the material you'll find on the exam is covered. However, the exam requires some analysis, not just plug-and-chug answers. For a better understanding, I recommend Cisco's CCNA boxed set. I was displeased with this text because you'd occasionally find contradictions between the chapter and the Q&A at the end of the chapter. Bottom line - if you know Cisco routers, this will get you through the test. If you're new to Cisco, get a copy of the Cisco boxed set as well.

Containing information that will not provide you with significant knowledge in the real-world in addition to the various errors I've found, this book is only fine if you have nothing else to turn to for reference.

hello. i have just recently purchased this book "CCNA for Dummies" and have read it cover to cover. i found it tolerable to read and to study from but is it supplying me with all the necessary information i need to pass the exam? oh..another thing is, i'm also studying from the Exam Essentials CCNA 2.0 practice exam (registered version = 294 "word-for-word" questions).

so...am i ready to tackle this CCNA beast?? or will i be just throwing away 100 george washingtons??

CCNA's out there. your input will be greatly appreciated.

By far one of the best study materials for the exam. I bought several books, Cisco: A beginners Guide. CCNA From the Cisco Press CCNA By Todd Lammle (sybex) and This one. Ron Gilster has once again demonstrated the ability to make we want to read his book, I never felt imtimidated or like I was being flooded, yet it has half the pages of the other books! I read the top listed ones, bought some practice tests, and realized I was missing some stuff, I then purchased the dummies book, and found all the information I had been missing. I passed the test shortly afterwards.

This book is absolutely perfect for someone who is just beginning their studies for CCNA certification. It introduces and *explains* most of the major concepts on the exam in a very clear and easy to understand manner. As one reviewer has already noted, this text is much more effective in explaining and describing important points than even Sybex's popular book by Lammle. Also, it provides outstanding tips on what types of questions are destined to be on the exam and what pitfalls to look out for. It is very well written and makes an otherwise somewhat dry subject rather interesting :) After you read this book, you must study either the Sybex book (by Lammle) or Cisco Press' certification guide.

This book is misleading in its ability to prepare a person adequately for the CCNA exam. The lack of familiarity with the scope and style of Cisco's test is evident in the way this book lays out the material. It is highly unlikely anyone would ever pass the CCNA with this book alone, or with experience and this book.

Because information and time is important, the book that really has it all and is readable is Todd Lammle's "CCNA Study Guide" published by Sybex (it could do a better job on bridging though).

I don't think that I would be so hard on this book if certification preparation claims weren't implied in the title.

I loved this book, it made clear several concepts that were worded strangely by Sybex and Cisco's Academy curriculum. However, the tests on the CD-ROM, while very well done for the most part, were also very buggy in places. Many questions began with "Given the following configuration example:" then nothing, then multiple choice answers! Studying primarily out of this book, and clarifying things and going deeper with the Sybex 640-407 guide, I was able to pass my exam on the first try with a 913. (and I'm only a senior in high school)

This was the first book I read in preparing for the CCNA exam and also used it to cram before the test. This book helped give me an overview and get familier with the terminology before going on to study with Todd Lammle's CCNA Study Guide. The CCNA for Dummies is a great reference and was a good cram book for the week before the test.

A book for CCNA hopefuls written by CCNA's. I would have hoped for someone with a little more Cisco ceritifcation experience. Need I say more?

Words of caution. Test #640-507 was released in Aug of 2000. This book came out in April of 2000. I found out "AFTER " I read the book, took the test, didn't pass, and searched for new study material. The book cover says that it is for test 640-507 but it misses the mark. I found the book to be generally useful. Lots of good info. Everything was explained clearly. Good book to have on your desk. For test preperation, look for a newer book.

I am a big fan of the "Dummies" series, as I couldn't have passed my half dozen MCSE tests without their help. I was able to get some information from it, but if I had made it my primary study guide, I don't think I could have bested 55-60% on the exam. I have noticed that everyone else that reviewed this book took the 640-407 exam. This book is supposed to be for the new 507, which is the one I took. This book falls far short in covering the switching and Wan protocols on the new exam. Also, the outpost game on the CD does not function properly. I know two other people that purchase it, and none of us was able to load it. This book will help as a companion, but it should be only a minor player in your study efforts.

Passed CCNA exam first time (897/1000) with a lot of help from this book. The first few chapters on OSI model and subnetting were very useful. But the best part was the test exams on CD. From the self-assessment, I found out what areas I was weak on. More information is needed for switches, WANs and access lists.

The book is awesomely written by the authors, however it falls short of doing a good job. It's extreamly poorly edited. The question sections at the end of the chapters contain errors in the answers and even some of the questions! Also lab 13-1 is almost entirly wrong. All of chapter 15 is nothing but very poorly typed, highlighted router commands. Whoever was editing stopped after chapter 11, completely! Good book for someone who's already knowledgable about networking but if your new to it and think you could get certified don't look to this book as the best source. My advice is wait for a second printing of this book, hopefully they'll fix those errors. Overall good in knowledge. Worth the money for sure but you'll be confused by all of the errors if you don't have some knowledge already.

I've been trying to understand internetworking technologies for a long time now. I've attended conferences, shared notes with network engineers on chat networks and mailing lists, and picked up on the job experience. But NOTHING has prepared me for my CCNA exam quite like this book. I still didn't pass, but this book has helped me by leaps and bounds! Here's to next time!

This is a good study guide, it quickly glances over the topics and gives you tons of highlights, buzzwords, charts and tables. I would not use this as a primary source as the Sybex book is much better in terms of depth, but if your just brushing up or need another poit of view I would recommend this book. Also the tests are helpful from the CD because you can customize it. T My only one complaint on this book is the part on ip addressing and subnetting, it was a little difficult and the wording made it tricky to figure out. This was a pretty hard topic to figure out and this book did not make it much easier, but overall a good book and a good aid, not a main source of info though. Jerry.